Genesis and reservoir preservation mechanism of 10 000‐m ultradeep dolomite in Chinese craton basin

Abstract The 10 000‐m ultradeep dolomite reservoir holds significant potential as a successor field for future oil and gas exploration in China's marine craton basin. However, major challenges such as the genesis of dolomite, the formation time of high‐quality reservoirs, and the preservation mechanism of reservoirs have always limited exploration decision‐making. This research systematically elaborates on the genesis and reservoir‐forming mechanisms of Sinian–Cambrian dolomite, discussing the ancient marine environment where microorganisms and dolomite develop, which controls the formation of large‐scale Precambrian–Cambrian dolomite. The periodic changes in Mg isotopes and sedimentary cycles show that the thick‐layered dolomite is the result of different dolomitization processes superimposed on a spatiotemporal scale. Lattice defects and dolomite embryos can promote dolomitization. By simulating the dissolution of typical calcite and dolomite crystal faces in different solution systems and calculating their molecular weights, the essence of heterogeneous dissolution and pore formation on typical calcite and dolomite crystal faces was revealed, and the mechanism of dolomitization was also demonstrated. The properties of calcite and dolomite (104)/(110) grain boundaries and their dissolution mechanism in carbonate solution were revealed, showing the limiting factors of the dolomitization process and the preservation mechanism of deep buried dolomite reservoirs. The in situ laser U‐Pb isotope dating technique has demonstrated the timing of dolomitization and pore formation in ancient carbonate rocks. This research also proposed that dolomitization occurred during the quasi‐contemporaneous or shallow‐burial periods within 50 Ma after deposition and pores formed during the quasi‐contemporaneous to the early diagenetic periods. And it was clear that the quasi‐contemporaneous dolomitization was the key period for reservoir formation. The systematic characterization of the spatial distribution of the deepest dolomite reservoirs in multiple sets of the Sinian and the Cambrian in the Chinese craton basins provides an important basis for the distribution prediction of large‐scale dolomite reservoirs. It clarifies the targets for oil and gas exploration at depths over 10 000 m. The research on dolomite in this study will greatly promote China's ultradeep oil and gas exploration and lead the Chinese petroleum industry into a new era of 10 000‐m deep oil exploration.